It feels like forever before Alhora hears them leave. She gasps for air, she had kept her breath in for so long.
"I'm as good as dead if I don't get out of here."
She finds a window and struggles to quietly open it. After a while it budges open. She dives out in a hurry, landing on her arm, shrieking in pain. She thinks She might've broken it but pushes herself up and runs. She runs so far until she can no longer see the castle.
Before she knows it, she's back in the forest. She continues on her feet for hours to no end. She begins to get dizzy and eventually faints.
Without her knowing, a mythical beast approaches her in the forest. A beast with black fur and a cool blue aura that hugs around its body. Their ability being teleportation, Alhora is transported off to a far land.
She wakes up to someone humming. She then hears another voice.
"I believe she's awake."
The humming stops and the other voice replies.
"I guess you're right."
Alhora opens her eyes and two individuals hover over her. She stares in confusion before she remembers the dire situation she's in. She leaps up. She feels a stiffness in your arm and notice her arm is wrapped up in bandages.
"Hey, we're not here to hurt you."
"Yea, we're not." The other replies.
They both look over to Alhora.
"Our names are Gem and Rak, it is nice to meet you."
Gems long dreaded hair dangles over her. She notices the bow and arrow across her shoulder, while Rak carries a maul. Alhora notices that the skin of his arms are covered in a thick needle-like texture, just like the butler from earlier. His torso is also covered in this texture. Gem on the other hand, she notices has a beautiful pattern drawn on her face.
Gem places her hand on Alhora's arm.
"I wrapped that up for you, nice and tight." She gives her a caring smile, a genuine one. Alhora's intuition tells her that these two individuals aren't out to hurt her. Feeling that she can finally put her guard down, her eyes begin to well up into tears and she begins crying.
"Oh no, Gem, you're scaring her with that horrendous smile." Rak laughs.
Gem backs up.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
As Alhora is sobbing she notices her surroundings and how the present forest that she's in is not the same one from before.
"I am not of this world. I came through a portal. My name is Alhora" She struggles to tell them. She tries to wipe her tears away but they keep on coming.
Rak and Gem look towards each other and then to Alhora.
"Luckily, you're in the right spot. There is a mythical tree in this forest. They will be able to tell you how to get home." Rak nods his head towards her.
He pats her on the back in order to comfort her. Alhora stops crying.
"Lead me the way." She says firmly.
"Not until you eat." Gem hands her a bowl of fruits and water. Alhora's stomach growls and she begins to gulp it all down.
Gem and Rak both look at each other and begin to laugh. She laughs with them. After a while they all decide to get a move on.
They lead Alhora deeper into the forest. Eventually, standing before a giant tree.
"We're here. You must take a bite of this mushroom in order to see him. We cannot see or hear him at our current dimension, so we must visit him at his."
Alhora takes a bite out of the mushroom that Gem hands over to her. She begins to see hallucinations, then a face starts to form on the plain tree before her.
"Hello, young traveler."
She opens her mouth to respond but jumbles over her thoughts. She is intimidated by this being. A gentle laugh come from the tree.
"I see that you want to ask about home, but where you've come from has never felt like home. So now, you are at a crossroads."
Alhora starts to think that the tree can read her mind. She looks down in shame. She misses her parents but she knows that once you go back, it'll be the same mundane. They've always provided for her but there was always an emotional disconnect. Sadness wells up in her.
You feel a gentle touch on her chin. She looks up and in front of her is what looks like a mythical being. A dark shadowed figure, surrounded by a bright green aura. Their eyes and arms glow in this color. The bottom half of their body looks to be made of sand and they hold a staff with a glowing power source at the tip.
"Do you not recognize your home? This is it. You've felt it since that door appeared before you."
She looks up, as she seems to sense a familiarity from this voice.
"You're the voice before the door! It was you!" She stares in shock.
The being sighs.
"There is still a long journey before you. One day it will all come to you at once, and when you remember, then the circle will come to completion and the prophecy will begin."
"What prophecy? What do you mean?" Alhora asks.
"Good luck on your journey, traveler."
The being removes their gentle touch from her chin and disappears. She find herself to be facing the tree again.
"Could that have been..? The spirit of the tree?" Alhora wonders.
"I am Knowledge, and that was my brother Journey." The tree gives her a warm smile.
"I'm afraid we've run out of time. This will be the last time we see each other for a while. It was very nice to see you again. "
The visuals fade out and Alhora is back in the forest with Gem and Rak.
"What does he mean, again..?"
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